Names & Notes

The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading announced that it will recognize Marshalltown with Pacesetter Honors for its work in 2017.

“Recognizing Pacesetters is our way of applauding and thanking the civic leaders, organizations and agencies that have joined forces to build brighter futures for children in their communities,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. “We are learning with them and from them what it takes to move the needle and close the gap. Mobilized communities — like these Pacesetters — are essential to closing the achievement gap.”

Each year, the GLR Campaign uses its Pacesetter Honors to highlight communities that report making measurable progress on key indicators of early school success. These communities serve as proof points and represent the “leading edge” of innovation, impact and improvement within the GLR Network, currently comprised of more than 360 GLR Campaign communities, representing 43 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.

Eliminating summer learning loss has been one of Marshalltown’s major focuses since 2011. Substantial community resources and funding have been mobilized to pilot summer learning programming such as Bobcat University (Rogers University), Spread the Words – Read by 3rd!, the Abriendo Puertas training program and several preschool initiatives. Mid-Iowa Community Action serves as the lead organization for these efforts, but this success is also the result of broad partnerships with multiple organizations including the Marshalltown Community School District, the City of Marshalltown, Child Abuse Prevention Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters, YMCA, local law enforcement and many more. Through the efforts of the community, Marshalltown has seen significant improvements in reading assessment rates in students enrolled in summer programming, closing the summer learning gap for low-income students.

Reading proficiency by the end of third grade is a critical milestone toward high school graduation and career success because it marks the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” National tests show that two-thirds of U.S. fourth-graders (four-fifths of whom are from low-income families) are not reading proficiently. Students who have not mastered reading by that time are more likely to drop out of high school and struggle throughout their lives.

ISBA local attorneys as new committee chairs

In addition to being a newly-appointed judge from the area, attorney Bethany Currie has also been named to a new leadership position within The Iowa State Bar Association. She is the new Chair of the ISBA’s Scope and Correlation Committee, in addition to continuing to serve on The Iowa State Bar Association’s Board of Governors.

James Goodman will serve as the new Chair of the Taxation Section. He can be a future local contact for you on issues related to this subject matter.

Wolfe Eye Clinic marks ophthalmology surgical milestone in Iowa

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — Wolfe Eye Clinic announced breaking ground recently on a new 25,000 square foot medical facility on the remaining portion of their lot, directly east of their current West Des Moines clinic at 6200 Westown Parkway.

This new facility will be the largest ophthalmologic specific ambulatory surgery center in the state of Iowa and

will serve patients from all over the Midwest for medical conditions of the eye.

“Providing high quality technology driven ophthalmologic care to Iowans has always been our top priority,”

per year out of their current location with the potential to double their volume with this new surgical facility.

Haverhill native a 2018 Warren Albert Prize honoree

Mike Welsh, University of Iowa professor of internal medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, is one of five scientists honored with the 2018 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize for transformative discoveries in the fields of genetics, physiology, pulmonology and pharmacology that led to the development of life-altering precision-targeted treatments for the devastating multi-organ disease cystic fibrosis.

Welsh grew up near Marshalltown and went to school in a one-room schoolhouse in Haverhill.

Welsh, together with the other four, received the award from the Warren Alpert Foundation, in association with Harvard Medical School. The award honors trailblazing scientists whose work has improved the understanding, prevention, treatment or cure of human disease.

The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize is given internationally. The five honorees will be recognized at a symposium on Oct. 4 at Harvard Medical School.

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Potential subjects of these business briefs include announcements of new businesses, branch acquisitions, departures of longtime employees, employee recognitions or new hires. Submissions will be edited and run on a space-available basis. Items must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration in Sunday’s column.